Inked arms
by xXSakura-Hime-SamaXx
Summary: (AU) They were contradictory, inconsistent-yet fit together so well. The first word that ever left his mouth in her direction was a simple: "Odd." And her response? "I know."


She was a struggling and exhausted art student, he owned the small tattoo parlour just down the street from her collage.

_She_ decorated her arms with ink, slowly building her sleeves with each month that passed, and_ his_ arms were almost completely bare save for the small band tattooed around his upper arm.

She didn't have any piercings, he had too many to count.

Her pink hair was natural, his was dyed from red to orange.

She dressed conservatively, favouring cardigans and pastel colours, while he wore whatever he pleased, darker colours and red clouds often adorning his body.

Sakura Haruno was a softly spoken and often short tempered girl, while Pein was a blunt yet patient man who rarely ever lost his temper.

They were contradictory, inconsistent.

Yet fit together so well.

The first time Sakura wandered through his door, she offered him a shy smile before pulling off her pale jumper to get an opinion on what to add to her arms next. The first word that ever left his mouth in her direction was a simple:

"Odd."

And her response?

"I know."

With each character or object inked into her skin, the shy girl would return to get an opinion, and the tall and often intimidating man would offer them without pause. Very strange for him, considering that he usually left the talking to his assistant.

He was intrigued by the odd girl, slowly coming to know her with each visit, even going as far as to offer her one of his rare smiles during their eighth month of acquaintanceship.

Or friendship, as everyone around them saw it.

But Pein was hesitant to label her a friend, especially since none of his ever lasted long.

Sakura though, she wholeheartedly considered him a friend, going out of her way to deliver coffee or snacks to his little business whenever she knew he had a lot of appointments that day. She liked the oddly quiet man, his rare smiles and harsh eyes always leaving her giddy.

Bringing him breakfast every now and again was the least she could do, especially if it meant spending a little more time with him.

It was on one of these mornings though, that she met the rest of his - loosely labelled- 'friends.'

And as intimidating and dangerous as they were, she fit in like she'd known them her whole life.

Months passed by, more ink graced her skin, and before anyone knew it- she was once again washed away by her workload.

Much to Pein's annoyance.

You see, the tattooist had come to expect her morning visits- had come to expect to see her soft smile each morning before opening.

And when she didn't show up one day?

Well, the doors of his business never opened that day, and he left to find her himself.

If she was going to put so much effort into befriending him, then she wasn't allowed to just drop him on a whim, Pein would see to that.

It was only after finding her exhausted and near incoherent form outside the collage library that he relaxed, pulling the pink haired woman back to his store to rest for the day. Coffee and complaints flowed for hours, the poor girl stressing out about overdue work and how long she was given to complete it. Pein found it all rather silly, but offered her his help if she ever needed it.

And thus began a new tradition- of Pein near forcefully dragging her from her paintings every so often to spend a day with him, to relax and unwind.

Just the two of them.

_No _work, _no_ school, _nothing_ but each other's company.

They did as they pleased on these days, just going with the flow and visiting wherever came to mind.

Be it a coffee shop, a museum or even that little park fifteen minutes out of town that Sakura used to visit as a child.

After a few months of this, it was silently and mutually agreed that they _could_ be considered dates.

_Maybe._

_If_ the other person was okay with that.

It was Sakura that broke their silence about these get togethers- finally working up the courage to ask the orange haired man out to a movie.

He'd said nothing, yet the small quirk of his lips told her all she needed- she knew how to read him well now.

He was…excited to go out with her- with no illusions, no pretences or lies.

It was a date, and they both knew it.

A date that went rather well, and when his lips lightly brushed hers that night when he dropped her back to her apartment, they both knew there would be many more to come.

"I was thinking a flower next, just over here beside the vine." Sakura softly spoke, her arm held above her as she reclined back, her head resting in his lap as he flicked through a magazine and absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair.

"Something bright, to go with the one below it." He added, already knowing where she was speaking of from memory.

She smiled up at him, her eyes alight with ideas and inspiration- and he knew he was done for.

It was love.

He loved this odd woman, loved her so much the intensity frightened his emotionally numb mind.

Shy and short tempered as she may be, she'd won his heart long before now, maybe even on that first visit to consult with him. The way she'd looked that day, practically glowing in the dull sunlight as she softly smiled at him, her inked arms nowhere near as filled in as they were now…

Yes, even back then she'd taken his breath away.

"Maybe a small arrangement of them, and I can use that to fill in some of the space left over from the skull here-" his hand caught her own as she went to motion to the area, and he slowly closed his eyes as he brought it to his lips, smiling against her skin.

_Yes, this was love._


End file.
